


Tamers Requiem, book 2: A Time to Heal

by Crazyeight



Series: Tamers Requiem [2]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Tamers
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-15 13:09:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8057662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyeight/pseuds/Crazyeight
Summary: Sequel story to Hazard's Sorrow. Takato goes on vacation to visit his cousin Kai and to recuperate from recent trauma. During that time he thinks about things past, of the changes that he has gone through, of life and friendship, and of love...





	1. Chapter 1

A pool of sunlight spilled out onto the floor, warming the wood with its rays as the sounds of frustrated grunts filled the air. Kneeling just off from the pool of sunlight a young, brown haired boy in a blue hoody shirt fought with a duffel bag as he tried to cram as many clothes as he could and force them down so that he could zip it up properly.

"C'mon…" the boy grumbled in irritation as he pushed down on the pile of clothes that threatened to erupt from the bag. "…Get _in_ there!"

 _This is what I get for putting things off until the last minute,_ thought the boy with a sense of irony as he forced the clothes down once more and held them down with one hand while the other grabbed the bag's zipper and used this brief respite to close it up. The boy who went by the name of Takato Matsuki (just Takato to his close friends, and occasionally _Gogglehead_ for one of them) smiled as the bag finally began to close.

 _Bull's eye baby,_ Takato thought triumphantly.

It was then, that in a rather bizarre twist of luck, the bulging sides of his duffel bag proved to be too difficult for the zipper to close up properly, and it quickly became stuck. His heart slamming in his chest in agitation and near panic, Takato pulled away the hand that was holding the clothes down to work with the zipper…

Only to have the clothes that were no longer pressed beneath the bag's opening take the moment of relieved pressure to erupt outwards like a volcano, just as soon as Takato gave a yank on the zipper. As Takato's crimson eyes widened in shock, he saw a piece of his shirt enter the zipper's channel, jamming it.

_Aw nuts…_

Takato gave a sigh of exasperation as he began to work through the bag, removing some articles of clothing so as to relieve the pressure, tossing them to the side as he thought about the time that was coming up. A couple days ago his parents had approached him and said that, given everything that had been going on for the past week and a half, especially with the news that he had recently received from the government agency known as Hypnos, they thought that it would be best if they sent him Okinawa to visit his cousing Kai so that he could have a little time to himself and wait for things to cool down a bit. A _lot_ had happened to him recently, enough to say that he _needed_ a period of calm weather, figuratively speaking to let it all sink in properly.

Memories flashed through his mind; recollections of his battle with Lucemon, Guilmon's subsequent _death_ and his own struggles to deal with his best friend's loss, his failure at it that resulted in the creation of the dark _BlackGuilmon_ and Lucemon's reappearance to combat it, BlackGuilmon's forcefully using Takato's energy to digivolve, nearly recreating the dark Megidramon again if it wasn't for his own last minute Biomerge with the creature, instead resulting in the birth of ChaosGallantmon, his own realizations about the nature of BlackGuilmon in regards to his own emotions as its creator and Tamer, his own battle with his friends; with Henry and Terriermon, and with Rika…

Takato paused at the name of the fiery haired Tamer that he had called his friend for nearly a year, his eyes becoming downcast as the faint traces of a blush appeared on his cheeks as yet another memory came to mind; the day that she had arrived at his house to return the goggles that he had abandoned in Guilmon's old den.

Looking over at his desk Takato's eyes lighted on the photograph from last year, the time that he had gone to Okinawa shortly before the V-pet crisis. It had been taken after the ordeal had ended and Gulfmon had been destroyed. His gaze settled on the red haired, violet-eyed Tamer for a moment and he looked away, feeling uncertainty take root in his mind.

 _I still can't believe that she did that,_ thought Takato as he once again began to un-jam his duffel bag's zipper, his motions making it difficult to discern whether he was trying to attack the problem with the annoying object head on, or was just looking for an excuse to do something while he collected his thoughts. _I mean I always knew that she valued our friendship, even though she didn't always make it look that way. I never realized that she felt… I never thought that she'd…_

Takato tugged on the zipper extra hard as his thoughts began to tatter. On the front with the Tamer known as Rika Nonaka, the Digimon Queen, he was still a mess, had plenty of reasons for it in fact, and it didn't look like he was going to be able to resolve the issue any time soon. The way things have been going lately, between the news from Hypnos and his family sending him off on vacation he had been distracted enough that he hadn't had much time for any of his friends outside of school, and even that was sporadic enough as it was. The battle against Lucemon had caused enough damage where power outages were frequent and some roads still closed off. Of course, the rampaging Triceramon that had shown up last week certainly didn't help things much either…

Takato snapped out of his reverie and looked back over at his desk and after a second's consideration he got up and walked over to it. He stood in front of the desk for a moment, looking at the picture, his brow furrowing in thought before reaching out and picking it up. A second later he walked back over to his bag and placed the picture amongst the articles of clothing that he had decided to take with him on his vacation. As he began to pull the zipper closed his eyes caught the image of Rika from that time in Okinawa almost a year ago, and he felt his heart pause for a moment, as though contemplating what had gone on between them recently, and a second later the bag was closed. Takato drew in a deep breath as he sat there, closing his crimson eyes.

He was going to have a lot to think about during the next week…

**###**

Takato raced out of the door of his home, bag slung over one shoulder as he fought to fight down the growing sense of panic that raced its way through his mind as he quickly bid his parents goodbye. True to form, unintentionally, Takato was late getting down to the airport to catch his flight. He had had a lot of time beforehand to get things ready, but that time had gotten away from him, distracted to say the least, especially in regards to his recent discussions with Shibumi and Yamaki when they had presented their _surprise_ to him. Before he believed that he no longer had anything to do with Hypnos, but now… after what Mr. Mizuno had done for him… it was all he could do to _not_ be at Hypnos. And who could blame him? If everything had gone through all right… if Mr. Mizuno had succeeded…

 _"Takato!"_ The sound of Mei Matsuki, his mother, cut across the street as she stood at the door, waving at her chaotic son as he raced through the crowd of people, already losing himself as he turned one last time to wave back. Mei's face softened as she lowered her hand. She had hoped to give him one last hug before he had left, but he was in a hurry. His habit of being chronically late for just about everything short of a digimon attack never failed, and showed no signs of being broken any time in the near future. He _had_ to have gotten it from his father…

"Did Takato take off already?" Asked Takahiro as he poked his head out of the bakery's door, just behind his wife.

_Speak of the devil…_

"I wish that he had waited," said Takahiro as Mei nodded in response to his question. "I would have given him a ride…"

"Oh, you know that he'll be okay," said Mei as she turned back and reentered the bakery. "It's not like he hasn't made the trip before, like I reminded you the _last_ time he went to visit Kai before that mess with the red blob. He'll be fine."

"But…" began Takahiro only to be cut off by a shake of Mei's head.

"Don't you have some bread in the oven that you have to keep an eye on? If you burn another batch you'll be making your own dinner tonight." Mei smirked at her husband as she said that, leaving him to try and guess as to whether or not she was joking. Takahiro just blinked in confusion.

Mei sighed.

"Just get in there. We've still got to make sure that we have fresh bread to serve for the customers. Takato knows what he's doing and I trust his judgment. I know that there are times where he'll waver but…"

Mei looked up at the sky for a quick second before ushering her husband back into their home and business, Takahiro giving his wife a strange look all the while.

"That's what his friends are for," finished Mei as she shut the door behind them with a jingle. A second later a shadow rushed over the front of the bakery.

**_###_ **

_I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!_

Again and again the thought hammered through his mind as Takato wove in and out of the crowd of people that had sprung up with the sunlight of the afternoon, a golden radiance casting its light upon the streets as above him the orb responsible for such luminosity sunk ever closer towards the horizon. At another time, one that was even less hectic, he would have taken the time to admire the light but not so now. All he knew at the moment was just how close he was cutting it and he still had quite a ways to go before he got to the airport. He wasn't at all sure that he _was_ going to make it onto the plane on time but he at least had to make the effort! Oh, how he wished that he had taken the time to get things done sooner…

So caught up in his flight of emergency that he didn't immediately notice that the crowd of people around him was parting suddenly like a wave, as though startled by something. The sudden increase in the ease that he was having in getting through them grabbed his attention after a few seconds and he looked at them in curiosity, one eyebrow raised in confusion, wondering what was going on while at the same time grateful for the reprieve that he now had. It was only shortly after that that he noticed a strangely familiar shadow that was growing in front of him.

 _Um…_ thought Takato as his pace began to slow in response, his brain already attempting to process what was happening. _What's going o…?_

"Hey there," spoke a voice that was both familiar and friendly sounding as something landed behind him. A strong arm grabbed hold of him around the waist and suddenly the next thing Takato knew was that his feet had left the ground.

"Going up!" Said the voice again in an almost melodious tone as Takato saw the ground surge further and further away from him, the people that stood there watching in dumb amazement dwindling into small specks as he and his _abductor_ rose into the air.

"Hu-wha…!" Came Takato's intelligent response as he tried to grasp what was going on. Looking down at the arm that was holding him he took note of the purple colored glove that held onto him tightly so as to make sure that he wouldn't fall. His widening eyes tracing over to his left, he took note of golden armor, a strong, mature face half obscured by what looked like a fox mask, and grasped in the other hand was a long, bronze, vajra staff. It didn't take him long to recognize who his _captor_ was.

"Sakuyamon!" Exclaimed Takato in surprise.

"That's us," responded Sakuyamon in her duo voices of Rika and Renamon. "Now would you settle down already? I don't want to accidentally drop you before we get to the airport…"

Takato blinked.

"You were going to the…?"

"Duh. We _all_ are! What? Did you think that we were just going to let you leave without taking a few minutes to see you off? In case you've forgotten we haven't seen all that much of you lately. I only heard about this from Jeri two days ago…"

The way Sakuyamon, or rather Rika had said that gave Takato the feeling that she wasn't at all happy with him for not filling her in on his plans for vacation, and to be honest, he really couldn't blame her. He should have taken the time to tell her, especially seeing as how they were friends and he _had_ told the others about it. Of course, the other Tamers went to the same school as he did, and most of them were present when he had to inform Ms. Asagi about his vacation. Rika went to a completely different school and… Takato's eyes became downcast. That wasn't much of an excuse. He could have at least called her, but with everything that had been going on so far…

 _Except that's not it, is it?_ Thought Takato. _Not by a long shot._

"Sorry," said Takato quietly as the wind blew at his hair. "I've had a lot on my mind lately…"

Sakuyamon didn't say anything in response to that, instead merely tightening her hold on the boy for a brief moment as they flew through the air, making Takato wonder if she was simply making sure that she had a good grip on him or was letting him know that she understood what he meant. There was a lot between them that had gone unsaid lately, ever since that day that she had arrived at his home to return his goggles. Since then Takato no longer knew how to react around the red haired Tamer, or what to say to her, her and Jeri…

As the airport finally came into view, Takato was once again confronted with the uncomfortable knowledge that he was going to have a lot to think over while he was at Okinawa.

The rest of the journey was made in silence.

**###**

Sakuyamon landed gracefully on the ground at the entrance to the airport and set Takato down on the ground before the light of de-digivolution enveloped the Mega Shaman's form and parted, revealing the two figures of Rika Nonaka, oddly enough dressed in the dark colored uniform of her school, and the golden furred kitsune digimon known as Renamon. As she took a quick moment to put her hair back up into its traditional ponytail Takato thought about trying to say something to her, something that might elate the sense of awkwardness that he had felt building up between them for days now, but try as he might he couldn't think of anything that sounded right. A strange irony he felt. He needed to say something so that he could find some semblance of normalcy between himself and his friend Rika, but because of what had happened he could no longer trust his words to not ruin what friendship that they already had.

 And judging from the look on Rika's face, he had an idea that she was running a similar line of thought in her mind right now.

Rika's brow furrowed into a frown as she glanced downward, as though irritated at something, and then she looked back up, her face taking on a softer expression as her violet eyes met Takato's crimson ones and she opened her mouth to say something.

"Takato…" a pause and another frown as the red haired girl clenched her right hand into a fist by her side as a breeze blew at the corners of the skirt of her school uniform. "I…"

The sound of a plane taking off interrupted her, and Rika glared at the object for a moment before remembering what the purpose of their being here was.

"C'mon," she said as she began to walk towards the entrance to the airport. "We'd better get you onto your plane."

"Rika…" began Takato only to halt when she turned to look at him, her questioning eyes once more becoming fixed with his. The brown haired boy tried to say what he felt needed to be said in his heart, but something refused to let the words come out. So instead he opted for something else that was close to what he wanted to say, and were just as true in every sense.

"Thanks for… thanks for stopping by and picking me up."

The corners of Rika's mouth drew up into a small smile as she nodded.

"No problem," Rika told him as the two of them and Renamon resumed their journey. "I was almost afraid that I was going to end up being late seeing as how my school is farther away then yours. Figured that while me and Renamon were biomerged we should check on your home to see if you had already gotten a head start or were going to be late again and needed a lift. Good thing one of us thought ahead…"

Takato smiled as the three of them entered the airport.

**###**

Takato, Rika, and Renamon met up with the others outside of the gate that would take him to his flight, greeting each and every one of them as he saw them, and they did likewise, and they wished him the best of luck with his vacation, Terriermon jokingly stating that he didn't know whether or not he should be jealous of Takato for the break that he was going on while at the same time commenting on Rika's school uniform, to which she responded with a glare and a quick question to the rabbit dogs Tamer if he had any objections to her beating the digimon senseless. Ryo chuckled at the exchange, but unlike his friend's digital companion, he had both the wisdom and the tact to not say anything on the subject and instead wished Takato the best of luck in his time away. After a few pleasantries were exchanged with Kazu and Kenta (leaving the boy to wonder if he should be at all worried about what they meant by _'we'll take care of things at the bakery'_ ), Takato found himself the recipient of one crushing hug from Jeri Katou. Takato raised his arms and returned the hug gratefully, though not with the same amount of force that she put into the act, as he didn't want to accidentally hurt her. No words were exchanged between them, but were instead content to stay where they were, holding onto each other. There was a lot that she wanted to say but time, thanks in part to Takato's procrastination with his packing, wasn't on their side at this point. For now all she could do in the time given to them was wish him luck, even though she didn't feel that he was going to need it. Jeri knew full well that he'd be all right, having been there when he had received the news from Yamaki about Guilmon…

 Jeri smiled at him as they parted and playfully flicked his nose, causing the boy to go through several colors of red. Jeri giggled.

"Take care of yourself Takato, and have fun. Say hi to your cousin and _Guilmon_ when you see them…"

Takato swallowed as emotions began to flood his mind and he nodded. He hoped that everything was going to come out all right with Guilmon. He _had_ to have hope on that front…

"I'll be sure to do that," Takato said as he smiled back. Finally Takato turned to see Henry and Rika standing behind him, Henry smiling calmly, his gray eyes a picture of warmth and friendship. A sight that was shared in equal measure with the red haired Tamer that stood next to him. The last of goodbyes were shared between them and soon enough Takato was heading through the gate that was connected to his flight. A voice called out over the loudspeakers that it was boarding now. Takato picked up his pace. Throwing a look over his shoulder, his eyes met with each and every one of his friends that were gathered to see him go. His eyes settled on Rika for a moment before he turned his face away and continued on towards his destination, his brow furrowing in deep thought.

He was going to have a lot to think about…


	2. Chapter 2

Takato exited the gate having now left the plane and was already casting his eyes about for his cousin, as at the same time a small, white colored face with large green eyes peered over his shoulder, ears expanding to an incredible length as he took in everything that was around them, causing the boy to look at his apparent traveling companion with a worried expression before quickly glancing around to make sure that no one else was looking in their direction.

"Calumon… I thought I told you to stay _hidden,_ " said Takato in exasperation, once more wondering just how it was that the diminutive digimon was able to pop up in places like an airplane without being noticed despite his rather _unique_ appearance and hyperactive nature. _First the school bus during the Deva incidents…then that time on the airplane when I went down to visit Kai right before that whole mess with Minami and Mephistomon… and if what I hear from Hypnos employees is any indication he's been able to sneak in there too…_

"Ohhh…" moaned the little creampuff of a digimon. "But there're a lot of people here, and I want to see more of those giant birdies."

"I know Calumon, but that's precisely why I don't think that you should be out right now. You know Yamaki wouldn't like it if he has someone calling him and telling him that a digimon had to be locked up for having too much fun…"

"But I'm a _good_ digimon!"

"I know that! But you have to admit that some of your bigger cousins haven't been giving people a very good impression of themselves, and D-Reaper and Parasimon only made things worse! Can't you pretend to be a stuffed animal?"

Calumon looked up at Takato and blinked his wide, green eyes, all but begging Takato to take pity on him.

"But then I'd have to be still…"

Takato sighed.

_Why do I always get the difficult ones?_

Tell you what," said Takato now getting the idea that the diminutive In-training wasn't going to see reason before someone noticed him. "If you're good, and keep quiet, I'll let you see Guilmon's egg… but only _after_ we get to Kai's place!"

Calumon stared at Takato, his eyes brimming with hope behind them.

"You mean it?"

Takato smiled softly.

"Sure."

Calumon nodded and then suddenly expanded his ears as he leapt out of Takato's arms and began flying off over to where the remainder of his baggage was waiting to be claimed by him.

"HANG ON, GUILMON! I'M COMING BUDDY! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LOTS AND _LOTS_ OF FUN! DON'T YOU WORRY!" Shouted Calumon as he soared through the air, causing more than a few heads to turn in his direction.

"Calumon!" Exclaimed Takato trying to catch up with the creampuff digimon, hoping that the attention they were garnering wouldn't bring any more of the unwanted kind. As he chased after his friend Takato couldn't help but be overtaken by a sense of déjà vu.

"Calumon! Get back here! You _promised_ that you'd be good! Calumon!"

**###**

_Just hang in there, boy,_ thought Takato as he shifted a small box underneath his arm into a more comfortable position as Calumon sat on his shoulder, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible while at the same time staring at the box that Takato held, as though by doing so he could will it to open so that he could have a look at the precious object contained within. Takato felt a little bit anxious at the moment, and for good reason. Shortly after the mess with Lucemon and BlackGuilmon had ended, Takato and the rest of the Tamers had learned that Mr. Mizuno, a.k.a. _Shibumi_ , had been working on a special project that had resulted in a modification being made to Yamaki's old Juggernaut program with the intention of collecting any left over bits of data that had remained from the death of a digimon in the real world, and after some time was spent analyzing and filtering out foreign data (as quite a bit remained due to the recent battles with Parasimon and Lucemon) the desired amount had been loaded and restructured into the familiar form of a digi-egg, and with the help of Takato's digivice had been realized into the real world.

 In short, if Shibumi had done things right, he may very well have found a way to bring Guilmon back to life.

_I'm still a little surprised that Yamaki thought that it was best that I should take Guilmon's egg with me,_ thought Takato as he made his way out of Baggage claims. _I would have expected that he would think it best to keep it at Hypnos so that they could monitor it and make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with it, but after what Shibumi said about the bond between a Tamer and a digimon being an important thing to establish, or in this case_ _ **reestablish,**_ _especially after a separation like what Guilmon and I went through I guess it makes sense._

A small smile spread across Takato's face as he began to near his destination.

_Not that I wouldn't have it any other way…_

Takato felt the passenger on his shoulder shift and flitted over to the other side so as to get a better view of the box that contained the egg of their friend.

"Calumon…" began Takato. "If you keep doing that someone's going to notice…"

_As if enough people haven't noticed already,_ commiserated Takato as he shifted the box yet again, casting his eyes about once more for any sign of his cousin. No luck so far.

"Ohhh…" began Calumon as his ears shrunk back into his head. "But I just want to see if Guilmon's all right. Jeri told me that he wasn't feeling well…"

Takato let out a sigh. He really couldn't blame Calumon for wanting to see Guilmon's egg. The little creampuff of a digimon had been out of town at the time that Guilmon had been destroyed, keeping Jeri's little brother company while he was visiting relatives, so he had missed out on quite a lot. Calumon had understood, or at least had a concept of what had happened to Leomon after he heard that Beelzemon had destroyed him and loaded his data (he had seen the Tamers do enough of it with wild digimon after all), but with Guilmon, since it certainly looked like Hypnos had been able to restore him (though how much remained to be seen as the egg had yet to hatch), the best way that he could understand what had happened to the ever-lovable crimson dinosaur was that his fight with Lucemon had just hurt him more than usual and that he was recovering from it, which really wasn't all that far from the truth once Takato thought about it…

But he had been far too close to losing his best friend to feel comfortable with seeing it that way.

_I hope that he's okay,_ thought Takato as he unconsciously stroked the box that his friend's egg resided in. _Shibumi said that there's a chance that Guilmon will come out of this okay because our digivices keeps a record of the partner digimon's data, but he couldn't guarantee that he would since this is the first time that anyone's tried reconstructing a digimon that's been destroyed._

Takato frowned as he immersed himself into his thoughts.

_Oh Guilmon… I promise. No matter what happens I'll be there for you, and you'll be my friend no matter what, and that nothing will tear us apart ever again! I failed you the last time but it won't happen again! Just hang in there boy… that's all I ask…just please be okay when I see you again…_

_"Takato!"_

Takato blinked in bewilderment, as he was jolted out of his thoughts by the familiar voice that had hailed him so familiarly. Instinctively, perhaps out of some memory from one of his more recent trips to his cousin's home, Takato looked up at one of the airports television screens, wondering if he was going to see Kai there interrupting a news broadcast in his attempts to find his wayward cousin.

_Nope. Not there…_

"Awesome! Takato!" Exclaimed a dark haired boy excitedly with deeply tanned skin, a white t-shirt and a sleeveless jacket as he ran up to Takato.

"Hey Kai," said Takato as a smile grew on his face, an act that was quickly duplicated by his tiny passenger as Calumon gave a cry of happiness and expanded his ears in excitement.

"Hey yourself," said Kai as he came to a halt in front of the Tamer. "You too Calumon. It's great to see you again. When Grandpa told me that you were coming because your parents said that you needed a break I couldn't believe it! You spend way too much time in the big city you know that? Glad to see that you felt the need to get out of there and get some fresh air."

Takato lowered his eyes.

"Yeah… about that…"

"Hey, where's Guilmon?" Asked Kai suddenly as he peered around Takato, half expecting the red dino to come bounding out of nowhere to tackle him, or at least to see some excessively large piece of luggage to hide him in until they were in a more secluded location where it would be okay to let him come out and roam around.

_Guess that my parents didn't tell him what happened,_ thought Takato as he shifted the box in his arms once more. On his shoulder he felt Calumon's ears shrink into his head as the subject of Guilmon came up.

"Well… you see Kai… that's a story and a half," said Takato. Kai raised an eyebrow at the boy and Takato gave a small sigh.

Kai expression slowly lost its previous, jovial appearance, as though sensing that something was amiss with his cousin.

"You know, I kinda figured that something was going on. My grandfather didn't give me any details, just saying that you were coming over and that we should get the house ready for your visit, but the way that he made it sound was like something had happened and that you needed some time away to think things through."

Kai frowned and looked down, deep in thought.

"I guess this is what he meant when he told me that I could ask how you were doing when I had asked him about you."

Kai brought his dark eyes back up to Takato's.

"Well, c'mon. The day's not getting any younger, and we still have a ways to go before we get to Okinawa. We still have to take a boat there you know. You can tell me about what's been going on since I last saw you on the way there."

Takato nodded and the two boys plus one digimon began to head off, Kai only pausing long enough to help Takato with his luggage, asking to carry the box that he was carrying, to which Takato hesitated at first before relenting.

"Okay," said Takato as he gingerly handed the box over to his cousin. "Just be careful with it, okay? Believe it or not, Guilmon's in there."

Kai's eyes widened at that.

"Say wha…?"

Takato sighed.

"That's… the _other_ half of the story that I'm going to tell you on the way to Okinawa…"

**###**

The smell of ocean air calmed Takato's nerves as he breathed it in, a light breeze playing with his hair as he looked out towards the horizon, seeing the island that his cousin dwelt upon finally starting to come into view as they approached it, the calm rocking of the boat providing a wonderful, lulling affect on him as he felt an old tension start to loosen up within him. The sound of Calumon giggling as he took flight and began to play with the seagulls reached his ears, causing the Tamer to smile and chuckle warmly at the site, grateful that the innocent creampuff digimon had chosen to accompany him on his trip. He hoped that Jeri was going to be all right without him since he had chosen to stay with her after returning to the real world… for that matter Takato _hoped_ that she even knew that he was gone. He tended to come and go pretty much at will, and surprisingly there was very little that could stop him from doing what he wanted.

  _Great. There goes my relaxation. Maybe I better ask Calumon if he told Jeri about his leaving when he comes back down to earth…_

"Hey Takato," said Kai as he came down from the upper deck. "How're you holding up? You're not sea-sick or anything are you?"

Kai grinned a little at the boy, though the grin had a half-hearted, unsure appearance to it. Kai had been a like that after hearing Takato's story about how events from his adventure in the digital world had caused the Rookie angelic digimon, Lucemon, to show up in the real world with the intention of destroying Guilmon, the apparent _success_ of the angel's venture, Takato's scanning of his drawing in a desperate attempt to revive his dead friend going wrong and the problems that had followed almost immediately afterwards…

Kai was grateful that Takato had managed to come out of all of that, and seeing as how Guilmon's data was salvaged and placed in _egg_ form until it could properly reorganized itself and hatch, things were certainly starting to look up for his cousin, but it was hard to be sure just what to say or how to react in this situation, or just how much events had affected Takato. He wanted to believe that with the possibility of Guilmon being revived (as Takato had said that it was only a _possibility_ as nothing like it to his knowledge had been done before) things would be better, and from the way Takato told it they were, but there was something in the Tamer's eyes that told him a different story. That what he had experienced, what he had gone through during that whole ordeal, still affected him in some manner.

_Well, we have a whole week to go through to talk about it. Maybe I can help him a little. After all, he came here to_ _**relax** _ _, and if I can help it that's exactly what he's going to do._

Before Takato could even say anything in regards to Kai's question, the dark haired boy went up to him and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it Takato. You just take it easy and everything, you got that? I'm pretty sure that Guilmon would want you to not worry about him too much while he's in that egg, and from what I remember from the last time I saw Calumon I _know_ that he'd tell you to lighten up and have more fun…"

Takato chuckled a little at that.

"Well, that's true…"

Kai chuckled back, and after a moment Kai looked at his cousin.

"Just remember, if there's ever anything that you want to talk to me about, anything at all, I'm here for you."

Takato smiled at that.

"Thanks Kai."

"Hey, don't mention it."

The two of them stood there in silence for a moment, and Kai took the moment to pat Takato on the shoulder before leaning against the ship's railing, looking out at the ever-approaching island.

"We'll be at Okinawa pretty soon," Kai said. "We might want to make sure that we have everything ready by the time we disembark."

Takato nodded and together the two of them walked away from the railing, heading towards the lower decks of the ship.

The sound of Calumon laughing joyfully as he landed on the back of a seagull made both boys smile.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun shimmered upon the surface of the water, shifting, changing with each small wave and motion that the water made. Takato Matsuki stood at the crest of the sea, looking out at the water, holding his goggles in his right hand having fished them out of his bag just a few minutes before arriving here. Kai was already out there, swimming with his harpoon as he looked for something to eat. Calmly Takato raised his goggles and strapped them to his forehead, feeling their familiar pressure as the elastic band gripped the sides of his head. A second later Takato took a deep breath, lowering his goggles over his eyes and dove into the surf, his body crying out at the sudden and unexpected change in temperature around him but he ignored this and pushed outwards, using his arms to drive him further and further before disappearing under the water to take a good look at the treasures that lay beneath the sparkling waves.

_I had almost forgotten how beautiful this place could be,_ thought Takato as he let himself go, immersing himself with the water that pressed against him from all sides, grateful that his goggles were allowing him to see all of this. Fish swam everywhere around him, darting in and out between the multi-colored coral reefs that rested on the ground below. Looking ahead of him Takato saw Kai skewer an Octopus with his harpoon and start swimming towards the surface. Takato watched him for a moment before angling himself downwards and pushed deeper into the water, his eyes looking thoughtful but at the same time distant. Memories marched their way through the boy's mind from the time that he and Guilmon were here prior to the D-Reaper invasion but he shared no part in them, and was instead content to exist within the moment, hoping to forget, just for this small space of time, all of his troubles and worries and be a part of the beauty that was around him.

A small fish darted in front of his eyes, glancing at him briefly before swimming away. A memory from school came to mind just then. Ms. Asaji was teaching her class about fish. He couldn't remember what kind exactly, as he hadn't been fully paying attention at the time and it had occurred well before Guilmon came into his life, but what he did remember was something about how their memory was so incredibly short. Two seconds if he remembered exactly (Takato paused a moment to smile at the irony of that recollection), and he wondered what it would be like to have a memory that short. Two seconds and all your past was gone just like that, never to bother you again… unless that is you were being pursued by something that wanted to eat you but for once he actually considered some of the possible advantages to a life like that. The thoughts however were quickly banished. There were plenty of memories that he didn't want to forget, and his time as a Tamer was one of them, especially Guilmon.

_Now if only I could forget the bad ones…_ thought Takato, even though his heart told him that doing so would be just as bad as forgetting the good ones. After all, each memory, every experience that he had was what made him what he was today and while there were some things that he wasn't exactly proud of, whether it lay in the past or in the present, they were things that he didn't fully desire to get rid of. It would, after a fashion, be like getting rid of Guilmon… like getting rid of a piece of himself.

The need for air called Takato's attention and Takato righted himself, pointing upwards towards the surface of the water he kicked his legs and began to move up, more or less letting buoyancy take control but adding his own contribution to that natural law of nature as the need of his lungs grew ever greater.

A memory from the digital world, from that strange underwater realm, trickled through his mind and a second later Takato broke through the surface of the water and gasped for air, gulping it in to replenish the exhausted amount that he had retained for so long. As his breathing began to settle down and relax, Takato reached up and raised his goggles and he frowned, feeling as though something was nagging him but he couldn't quite place it. Shrugging Takato dove back beneath the water and began to swim back towards shore; aiming to meet back up with his cousin once he got there and help him out with his latest catch.

Still, as he swam that feeling of something nagging at the back of his mind wouldn't leave him alone.

**###**

Takato trudged up onto the shore, water trickling down from his limbs and swim shorts. Hearing the sound of Kai's grandfather playing some music, Takato looked up towards Kai's home, smiling as he saw the old man sitting outside, stringing a tune on his instrument. Calumon sat next to him, smiling and listening carefully and quietly (something that amazed Takato to no end) as the little creampuff held onto the red spotted egg that contained Guilmon's data. Ever since they had arrived at Kai's home Calumon wouldn't rest until he saw Guilmon's egg, and when Takato brought it out Calumon immediately took to cradling it as best he could and talking to it as well. Mostly telling stories and memories, and only occasionally trying to get it to engage in conversation; even though the egg made no indication that it even heard Calumon (or for that matter not even responding to his questions) Calumon maintained that the egg was a _real good listener_.

_Calumon's certainly something else isn't he?_ Thought Takato as he watched for a moment longer and then turned his head to see where Kai was. He was beginning to smell the faint traces of smoke, meaning that Kai had a fire going already and would soon be cooking the octopus that he had caught. Briefly Takato remembered the time that Guilmon had tried to catch one the time that they were here almost a year ago. He didn't do too well then and it was Kai who had caught the prize. Probably one of the few times that a digimon had been outmatched by a human at something, like that time that Henry clobbered that Divermon.

Quickly spotting his cousin poking at the flickering beginnings of a fire Takato walked on over and crouched down next to him.

"Hey Takato," said Kai with a small smile on his face. "Saw you out there swimming."

Takato nodded.

"Yeah. The water just looked extra inviting today so I thought that I might as well dive on in. I've forgotten how relaxing the experience can be around here. I liked it."

"I know," said Kai with a chuckle. "Why do you think that I live around here?"

Takato chuckled back.

"You mean besides the fact that you were born here?"

"Very funny Takato," said Kai humorously as he grabbed a nearby towel and tossed it at the brown haired Tamer. "Here. Dry yourself off before you get any water in the fire. I'm trying to get this thing started for our lunch… that is unless you like to eat your food raw…" Kai indicated the octopus and freshly gutted fish sitting by the fire that he had caught during his time out in the ocean.

Takato gave a nervous laugh at that and promptly did as he was told. He didn't relish the idea of eating raw food, even if Kai was joking about it.

_Though I wouldn't put it past him…_

"So aside from that business with Lucemon," began Kai, scowling at the fire, wondering why it wasn't catching on the wood yet. "How has everything else been going?"

Takato was silent for a moment.

"What's there to say, Kai? That time _was_ a pretty dominating factor in my life for quite a while, and the same goes for my friends. I mean, after Lucemon returned to the digital world things definitely calmed down, no question about that, and things certainly seemed to get better after we found out that Hypnos…"

"That's that government agency that you were telling me about before right? The one that was on the news and helped out with that red blob from last year? The D- _Whatcha-ma-call-it_?"

Takato laughed.

"I could almost swear that I was talking to Terriermon or Kazu right now. But yeah, Hypnos is the same agency that I told you about."

Kai shook his head.

"Can't imagine what it must be like working with them. But then there's a lot of stuff that you do that I can't imagine doing myself though I do have an idea."

The two boys grinned at each other, remembering that time last year during the V-Pet crisis when they, Guilmon, and Seasarmon had gone to rescue Minami. They're faces fell a little at the memory of the digimon that had sacrificed its life to defeat Mephistomon's virus program.

"Anyway," said Kai after a second. "You were saying?"

"Yeah. Things seemed to get better after me and the others found out that Hypnos had managed to salvage Guilmon's data using an old program that was supposed to send digimon from the real world back to the digital world. A friend of Henry's dad, Mr. Mizuno, had managed to modify the program to gather his data and reformat him into a digi-egg."

Takato's face softened as he cast a glance back at Kai's house, looking at the red spotted egg that Calumon continued to hold, smiling and rubbing its surface gently as he sat there next to Kai's grandfather. As Takato watched, that feeling that something was bugging him once again came to mind and Takato's mind paused. He had had a lot worrying him during the past two weeks. The possibility that Guilmon might not come back or even if he did, not remember who he was, and then there was also the other issue involving Rika and Jeri…

_Jeri…_

Takato's face became crestfallen as he thought of the brown haired girl that he had held in his heart this past year. His emotions were a mess on the matter, and he could already feel them getting all tangled up as he began to think about it. He didn't want to lose either Jeri or Rika as friends, but what if his feelings for Jeri and Rika's feelings for him (for that was certainly what it seemed like two weeks ago when she had kissed him) made things as such where that friendship, for either of them, was lost? What if he couldn't return Rika's feelings? What if she wanted things to be more between them and he wasn't ready… or even _willing_ to give more?

_"Takato?"_ Whispered a memory. _"Just remember… we'll always be there for you…"_

"Takato?" Asked Kai, sounding worried at his cousin's silence. "You okay?"

"I…" Takato began, but he paused. There was so much that was going through his head right now that he couldn't tell right from left, and he wasn't sure just how much to reveal to his cousin before he was ready to even talk about it. There was so much that he felt that he didn't fully understand, and a lot of it stemmed from the fact that he hadn't had the time to talk to Rika, or even Jeri, or any of his friends for that matter, outside of school. He needed a little more time to sort it all out in his head first before he could begin to talk about it. More importantly, he needed to come to terms with what happened.

_Of course, I've had two weeks to do that, and I'm still not any closer to it than before…_

Takato looked over at Kai. He was still clearly waiting for a response. Takato sighed inwardly. He wasn't quite ready to talk about what had gone on between him and Rika, and how it had affected him, so instead he switched to something else that, while not nearly as nerve wracking, was still something that bothered him, even though he was certain that Jeri would have eased his worries on that if she knew about it.

"I was just thinking about Jeri," said Takato finally. At this Kai almost smiled, being quite familiar with the subject of the brown haired girl that his cousin had struggled so hard to save from D-Reaper, but his smile froze when he saw the look of commiseration that was on his face. "You remember what I told you about her partner being destroyed in the digital world right?"

Kai nodded, having heard about that from Takato's story, as the Tamer had felt it rather important for him to know the background behind Lucemon's reasons for destroying Guilmon in the first place.

"I was thinking about… about how when Leomon was destroyed and loaded… there…" Takato ran a hand through his hair as he tried to organize his thoughts, and focus on what he was trying to say and how to best express it. "…There was just no way that he could come back from that. No way at all. The digital world was different from what I saw on the TV show… the digimon there practically cannibalized each other for data and most of them didn't even think twice about the digimon that they were destroying…" Takato paused as he analyzed what he was saying, wondering if he was getting off track before resuming. "…And it just…I was able to get Guilmon back. I guess I was lucky when it came to that, but I can't help but feel that it's just so unfair that I _was_ able to get Guilmon back while Jeri… Leomon's not going to be able to do that. The way he died was different from Guilmon. And because of that all I can think of was how sad Jeri was when Leomon died. She says that she's glad that Guilmon's back and I believe her, but why does it have to be Leomon who stays dead while Guilmon gets to have a second chance?"

Takato shakily took a breath.

"Why does Jeri have to go through that? Why does her heart have to stay broken?"

In those last words Takato felt a part of the fear that he had been experiencing ever since Rika had kissed him in his room. The fear of hurting two of his closest friends, and no matter what he did he felt that someone was going to be hurt by his decision. Briefly he reflected on the irony of the broken heart image that had been Rika's trademark for the first couple of months that he had known her, and how it had apparently _fixed_ itself at the end, before their first battles with D-Reaper.

What would happen to her heart, the one that he couldn't see, if he hurt her? If he couldn't return her feelings?

_Funny…_ thought Takato as silence filled the air. _Normally it'd be Rika who would tell me to not worry so much about her._

"Wish I could provide a definite answer for you Takato," said Kai after a few moments of thoughtful silence. "I don't know everything that went on between you two… I can't even say that I know Jeri either. I mean the only friends of yours that I've met have been Henry and that Rika girl from that V-Pet problem. From what you _have_ told me about her though she does sound like the kind of person who would worry more about someone else's happiness than her own. You told me about how her partner was destroyed, and about how she not only forgave the one responsible, but even became his friend… that takes a lot Takato. It's not easy an easy thing to do. You have to have a pretty strong and forgiving will to forgive something like that, let alone become friends with the person responsible. Then again, as I said, I don't know Jeri, but I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't stoop to being selfish enough to be jealous about you getting Guilmon back. I think she would want you to be as happy as you possibly can."

Takato nodded numbly.

"I guess you're right," said Takato looking down at the fire. It looked like it was just starting to catch on the wood. "I just still think that it's not fair that Leomon is still dead and Jeri's alone…"

"But she's not Takato," interrupted Kai, causing Takato's head to snap up in surprise. Kai was looking at him with a serious expression. "She has her family and all of you guys there for her and vice versa; Jeri's _never_ going to be alone as long as you all stand together."

Takato blinked as he processed what his cousin had just said, and then a small smile spread across his mouth.

"Yeah. Yeah I guess you're right."

Kai looked down at the fire, and noticed that the wood was finally catching. He picked up the fish and began to get them ready for cooking. As he did so he glanced up at Takato and grinned.

"So…" he began with a sly grin. "How are things going between you and Jeri?"

The smile on Takato's face was wiped away in a second and he looked away.

"Uh, oh," said Kai as he mentally cursed himself.

**###**

That evening Takato lay on floor of his cousin's home, listening to Kai and his grandfather breathing softly as they slept. Nearby, Calumon was also snoozing away, never letting Guilmon's egg drift from his grasp, unconsciously grasping at it whenever it showed the slightest sign of falling out of his grip. Takato stared up at the ceiling, his mind going over some of the things that he and Kai had talked about. Even though a lot of what Kai had said had helped him, but there were still quite a few things that bothered him, and if his guess was right, would continue to do so even if Kai had some advice that could help him.

When Kai had asked him how things were between him and Jeri, Takato hadn't provided an answer beyond it just becoming more _'complicated'_. Beyond that he wouldn't say just yet, despite Kai's initial prodding's, assurances, and desire to help him. And he knew that he could trust Kai, and that Kai did indeed want to help him, but this was something that he didn't feel ready to talk about.

_But I've got to talk about it with_ someone _, and soon! Otherwise this is just going to eat away at me, and if I go back home without this resolved, or at least a better understanding of how I feel and what to do about it…_

_…Then I really will lose Rika and Jeri's friendship…_

A memory from two weeks ago came unbidden to his mind once more as he thought about that time two weeks ago when Rika had come down to his home to return his goggles, not too long after Lucemon had returned to the digital world.

**###**

_Takato sat there on the floor of his room, his heart beating a rapid rhythm in his chest as his body flushed with heat. He felt as though his mind were swimming as the gentle pressure of Rika's arms held him close to her, her head resting on top of his. He could still feel a tingle in his face, centered on the area of his lips from the kiss that the red haired Tamer had given him…_

_All of a sudden Takato was aware of the softness of Rika's shirt, the tickle of her hair against his face, the warmth that radiated from her body, as though a manifestation of sorts of the torrent emotions that she had just expressed to him. And when she spoke, her voice carried a gentleness to it that he had heard only on rare occasions, and never believed that he'd hear directed at him._

_"Takato?" The red haired girl said softly to him. "Just remember… we'll always be there for you…"_

**###**

As the memory played through his mind, Takato fell into a fit, but troubled sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Takato sat on the porch of his cousin's home, watching the sun as it sunk towards the horizon, it's golden light seeming to ignite the sky with fire, and the clouds that floated lazily by, alongside the sparkling water that surrounded Okinawa, basked in its soft glow. Takato looked at the golden, amber color with a look that was both a mixture of sorrow and worry. After a moment of silence Takato hitched a sigh. As much as he tried to enjoy the sunset he couldn't find the ability within himself to do so. The way the colors reflected on the clouds, the deep orange that surrounded the sun with a golden nimbus, the shining rays that broke through the gaps in the clouds, the general calmness that he felt in the air during this time of the day…

…They reminded him of Rika.

Takato looked away from the blazing sky and shifted his gaze to his left hand as it rested lazily on his knee, his crimson eyes showing the depth of turmoil that he had felt in both his mind and heart these past couple of weeks. Three days had passed since he had arrived on Okinawa in search of rest and relaxation and while he had found both in abundance they did little to ease the tension that he felt building within his heart. Almost unconsciously he found himself going back to the memory from his room, two days after Lucemon had destroyed BlackGuilmon and returned to the digital world. In his minds eye he was sitting on the floor of his room once more, trying to draw Guilmon. The sound of a soft knock followed by his bedroom door opening reached his ears and there at its entrance stood the fiery Tamer, smiling gently at him, asking him if he needed some company. His mind played over the next scene quickly, her encouraging him to finish his drawing to her returning his goggles, then becoming a listening ear as he poured out the last of his inner demons to his friend, and finally her show of friendship as she held him, her face drawing closer, her eyes closing, neither of them quite realizing what was going on or what was about to happen, the pause in time at that moment right before their lips… and here Takato's mind paused. That moment was all but branded into his mind, and he doubted that he could forget it even if he tried. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if he wanted to, but…

_Yeah._ But.

Three days and he had yet to figure out how to deal with what had gone on between him and the red haired Tamer that he had first seen in a dream almost a year ago. He didn't even know how far it had affected him, not just what he felt for Rika but his own feelings for Jeri as well. He liked Jeri. Liked her _a lot_ , that much he knew for certain, and it seemed sometimes that it went beyond just a mere crush, almost to the point where he felt as though she were a natural part of him the way Guilmon had been. Kai had remarked on it once before the last battle with D-Reaper, and he had certainly felt her pain and fear during her imprisonment with the D-Reaper as though she were right next to him. He cared for her, no doubt about that…

But now that Rika had shown him the same amount of care that he had for Jeri…

_Oh man… what am I going to do…?_

"Hey! Takato!"

Blinking in surprise, Takato turned his head to see Kai approaching him from within the house. As soon as the dark haired boy stepped outside he spoke.

"Hey. Gramps says that dinner is going to be ready soon and…" Kai paused as he took in the expression on Takato's face. "Hey. You okay?"

Takato furrowed his brow as he turned back to the sunset, and Kai felt certain that he was thinking about whatever had been bothering him these past few days since his arrival. He at times wondered if his cousin was still worried about Guilmon, and he didn't have many reasons to think otherwise, especially since his partner's egg had yet to hatch, but ever since he had brought up the subject of Jeri three days ago he had a feeling that the brown haired girl lay at the heart of the matter, or at least pretty close to it. Seeing as how he had closed up when asked about how things were going between them, and that he had said that things had become _'complicated'_ Kai had quite a lot to go on to confirm this hypothesis. The look on Takato's face right now told Kai quite a lot as to how much this was bothering him.

_Something pretty big must have gone down between them if it's had Takato like this…_

Kai got down on the porch floor next to his cousin, joining him in watching the sunset, letting the silence have its say for a moment as the wind played with their hair before he spoke.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" Asked Kai softly.

A few seconds passed during which Takato said nothing, just sitting there, watching the sun continue its descent towards the horizon. The sky was starting to shift from a golden, amber color to a more reddish hue. Kai waited patiently, not wanting to disturb his cousin as he collected himself, and after those few seconds were over, his patience was rewarded.

"I didn't tell you the truth, three days ago," Takato began, picking his words carefully, finally deciding to let it out, feeling a strange sense of relief, mingled with apprehension at doing so, but continuing on anyway, feeling that by doing just that he could finally find an answer to the problem that had been plaguing him these past few weeks. "When you asked me if I was okay and I told you about how I thought it was unfair that her partner couldn't come back the way Guilmon did…"

_If he did,_ thought Takato but he quickly banished the thought and resumed what he was trying to say.

"I don't really know what to say… how to tell you… it's just all so confusing, and every time I think about it, I feel like I'm stuck in a room where the walls are closing in on me and I have no way out… no way out without hurting someone I care about…"

Takato paused, trying to sort through his thoughts and untangle them from the torrent of emotions that he was experiencing. Kai, picking up on this, decided to approach the situation with a more direct manner based on what guesswork he had already made thus far.

"Takato," began Kai. "What happened between you and Jeri before you came here?"

Neither one said a thing for a few seconds as the full weight of Kai's question settled in on the silence, allowing them both to digest it properly. Takato was a little bit surprised at Kai's question, mostly at its directness and rather bold affirmation as to what he felt lay behind the problem that had been troubling him of late. He guessed that Kai was right to believe that was the case, since he knew about his feelings for Jeri, and noticed how he had reacted to the subject when his feelings for the girl were brought up.

Of course, that was only part of the problem. And that was what he was going to tell Kai now…

"That's just it, Kai," said Takato. "It… it wasn't Jeri… nothing _happened_ between us, but in a way she is a part of it all…"

Kai waited patiently for Takato to continue, watching his cousin with a curious and confused expression on his face.

"It wasn't Jeri," Takato reiterated. "It was Rika…"

Kai's face became scrutinizing as he processed this bit of information, and then his eyes widened in shock as comprehension dawned on him. Takato, for his part continued speaking, so as to clarify what he had just told him.

"She was pretty worried about me when Guilmon _died_ … I guess that makes sense, I mean _everyone_ was worried about me and we were kinda close as friends, so her reaction was understandable. She helped me out a lot, helped me in ways that went above and beyond what I would have expected her to do…"

Memories, scattered images of that terrible week after losing Guilmon came to him once more. Rika, holding him after his disastrous first encounter with BlackGuilmon; Rika, comforting him in his room and standing by his side at Hypnos; Rika, facing him down when he was merged with BlackGuilmon, first as Sakuyamon and then finally as… herself. No weapons, no cards… just plain Rika, his friend and fellow Tamer. Helping him with nothing more than her friendship to fight through the anger that had clouded his mind, her words, her _voice_ practically a light in the darkness that had held him prisoner within the armored form of ChaosGallantmon.

Takato continued to speak.

"…And when it was all over… she… she was reminding me that everyone was going to be there to help me get through… what happened, and…"

Takato's words, and his voice tattered as he spoke. He was having difficulty in conveying the rest of what he was trying to say, though judging from the look on Kai's face at this moment he doubted that he needed to say anything further. Takato felt that he had to nonetheless. He _had_ to say it! He had to get it out there, so that he could finally come face to face with what had happened, acknowledge it, and eventually come to terms with it.

"…And… I guess that she cared… cared a _lot_ more than I thought since we became friends. She…"

Takato paused once more, letting the sentence drift for a moment as he watched the sun sink even further towards the horizon, this time it's bottom was just starting to disappear beneath the far off edge of the ocean.

"…She kissed me Kai…"

There. He had said it. But… now the question became… now what?

"Takato…" whispered Kai, unable to hide the shock that he felt. He finally understood what it was that had been bothering Takato during his stay here.

_No wonder… who_ wouldn't _be? That kind of emotion… someone's bound to get hurt from this, and it's a sure bet that no one will get out of it without some kind of scar…_

"So…" Kai stumbled over his words. He was having some trouble comprehending what Takato had told him. Rika? Sure, he had teased Takato a little bit about her after the issue with Mephistomon had been settled and he had been introduced to his cousin's friends (the red haired wonder _was_ certainly pretty for her age, and as far as Kai knew at the time, the only girl that Takato hung out with on a regular basis), but he never expected anything like _this!_ "So… does she…? I mean…"

"Yeah…" said Takato quietly. "I guess so."

"Man… so…man…"

Kai sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he tried to put his thoughts together.

"That's… whoa…"

"Yeah. I know."

A light breeze blew over them as they sat on the porch, watching the sun as it set beneath the waves.

"I wish I knew what to do about this," said Takato. "I mean I always knew that she valued our friendship. Even though she doesn't always like admit it at times, but she really is quite close to all of us…" Takato gave a dry laugh. "…Even Ryo, Kazu, and Kenta no matter how much she tries to say otherwise."

Takato laughter died down as he sobered up, and his thoughts returned to the present.

"…But this…"

"Have you tried talking to her about it?" Asked Kai carefully.

"I… I haven't had the time… so much has been going on and… no. That's… that's just an excuse. To be honest… I've been afraid to talk to her about it. I really have been…"

Takato inwardly reflected on the irony of the fact that he had faced so many enemies without so much as batting an eye, but when it came to love he felt a fear that not even D-Reaper had been able to bring out of him. Takato looked deep within his heart, and he found himself approaching something that maybe… just maybe… he wasn't ready to face just yet.

"And what about Rika?" Asked Kai. "How do you feel about her?"

Takato thought about that for a moment before answering.

"I wish I could answer that, Kai. I care about her, but I don't think that it's in _that_ way. I've certainly never thought of her that way before, not even when I first saw her…"

_In that dream,_ Takato thought in his mind, but that wasn't important in the here and now. Still, like so many other things, the dream that he had about the red headed girl had come up in his thoughts more and more often. He hadn't thought about it in so long… _months_ in fact. It just seemed to have lost all relevance when the digimon invasion began to really kick into high gear, and Rika hadn't been all that thrilled to hear about it in the first place anyway, but now that he did think about it, it struck him as odd that he had had it at all, and that nothing that he had experienced afterwards had revealed any reason for having it at all.

_Funny…_ mused Takato dryly.

"Does Jeri know?" Asked Kai, though he felt that he already knew the answer. The shake of Takato's head that was given in response to his question didn't at all surprise him.

"Grandpa would say something along the lines of _'follow your heart'_ ," said Kai after a second. "And even though it is a common thing to say, and to hear, it does have some merit. But I don't think that it's as clear cut as that though, as I'm sure you can guess, huh Takato?"

The brown haired boy nodded, forcing a small smile onto his face.

"One thing that you definitely want to ask yourself is what you feel for them before you make any decision. Whether or not you talk to Rika and Jeri about this is up to you, but I'm pretty sure that you know that that's something that you really can't avoid…"

Takato nodded numbly.

"I really wish I could help you with this Takato," continued Kai. "Of course, no matter what you know that I'm here if you want to talk," Kai grinned a little at that. "Even with the distance separating us but I'm still here for you despite that."

Kai pointed at his chest as his grin turned into a smile.

"In here, where it counts. You've got my support, and as long as you're here I'll help you face this, but really all I can offer is my support… and some advice."

Takato looked over at his cousin.

"And what sort of advice, Kai? I mean, you're not that much older than me…"

"I know. I can freely admit that I don't have that much experience with this sort of thing either, but when you live with someone like my grandfather you pick up a few things."

Takato had to smile at that. He supposed that if he lived with Kai's grandfather he probably would learn a thing or two. If nothing else, a little bit of the old man's personality had rubbed off on his grandchild.

"Anyway," said Kai, picking up where he left off. "This isn't something that I can really help you decide what choice to make, but I can give you something to think about so that you can get an idea on what to do. What my advice to you is this: Whatever you _do_ choose, make sure that you're certain about it. Don't get yourself thinking that you're really in love with someone, or getting into a relationship with them, just because you don't want to hurt them; that kind of thing… that kind of relationship…isn't really the best kind, and usually worse for those involved, because then your relationship, whether as friends or more, will become awkward."

Kai's eyes softened as he looked out towards the ocean.

"Trust me. It's not something that you want to get into."

The two of them sat there, just looking out towards the ocean waves as the sun continued to set. Takato couldn't say that he felt any better, even with having the conversation, but strangely he felt _cleansed_ in some way. He felt as he did when he came back from a swim. Perhaps… perhaps he did feel a little bit better now that he had gotten it out in the air and talked about it, but that didn't belie the fact that it still made him uneasy. He had a few more days to think things over, and talk to Kai about it before he had to go home and take it from there. He just hoped that everything turned out all right in the end, even though he feared that it wouldn't.

The excited sound of Calumon reached the boys' ears, and together they turned around to see what all the commotion was.

_What's that rolling sound?_ Wondered Takato as he felt his body start to tense up.

"Come back! Guilmonnnn! Come back!"

As if on cue, a white colored egg with red spots rolled out onto the porch, causing both Kai and Takato to leap to their feet in surprise. A second later Takato was running forward to grab the egg just as soon Calumon bounced outside in pursuit. Snatching it up, Takato felt the egg vibrating in his hands. His eyes widened in surprise as Kai ran up next to him. He faintly heard Kai asking him what was going on, with Calumon babbling something about how _Guilmon had gotten restless all of a sudden_ , but so caught up in what Guilmon's egg was doing that he really didn't hear either of them.

_Is it…?_ Thought Takato with a sense of delirium. _Can it be…?_

A crack appeared on the side of the egg, causing Takato and Kai to jump in surprise while Calumon blinked and cocked his head to one side. After a few more tense minutes of constant vibrations, shivering, and cracking, the top half of Guilmon's egg split and broke off, falling to the floor. Neither Takato, Kai, or Calumon took any notice of this as before them, held within the bottom half of the eggs remnants, cupped carefully in the slightly tanned hands that belonged to Takato, was a little, reddish-orange ball with large, dark eyes, an _X_ symbol on its forehead, and bat-like wings for ears. It was this last that Takato, Kai, and Calumon recognized all to well.

The reddish-orange ball glanced up at Takato and blinked its eyes.

"Mon!" It cried in a small, childish voice as it quivered in the remains of its protective egg, as though aching to hop out and get as close as it possibly could to the boy that held it carefully in his grasp.

Takato felt tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes, and he choked out something akin to a joyful sob as he looked at the tiny creature.

"G-G-Gui…Guil…"

Takato couldn't finish what he was trying to say, so completely overjoyed by what he was seeing. All of the emotions that he had been experiencing now came to a head in one mad rush and he quickly burst into tears.  
Calumon, taking note of the increased wetness on Takato's face hopped down and picked up the broken top half of Guilmon's egg and held it at Takato's feet. A couple tears plopped into its interior as Calumon stood there with the remains of the egg, catching the drops of water as they came down.

"Takato…you're face is leaking…I think we're going to need a bucket."

Kai chuckled as he placed one hand on his cousin's shoulder, silently congratulating him on his partner's return to the land of the living.

"I think he's going to be okay Calumon," said Kai.

**###**

That evening found Takato once more preparing to fall asleep on the floor of his cousin's home, the sounds of Kai, his grandfather, and Calumon now joined by a little red ball, covered with a blanket and sleeping away in a basket that Kai's grandfather had picked out after dinner had ended. The little digimon was voraciously hungry, something that made Takato smile as it gave him hope that his partner had come back all the way, though it still remained to be seen if that was the case. Beyond saying _'Mon'_ , the digimon that his digivice had identified as _Jyarimon_ , had a limited vocabulary, and would probably remain so until he digivolved to his In-training form of Gigimon.

 Things were almost perfect now. Almost back too normal, almost _right._

Except for one thing.

Finding himself unable to sleep Takato got up and, after taking one last look at the basket that Jyarimon slept in, with Calumon laying nearby, keeping a close, watchful eye on the little digimon like an older brother, walked over to his bag. After a couple seconds of digging through it Takato finally brought out what he was searching for and walked outside with it. In the light of the night sky's stars and moon Takato looked at the photo of himself and his two friends, Henry and Rika, from that day all those months ago, his gaze settling on the red haired, violet eyed girl that looked calmly, almost indifferently at the camera as she sat there, waiting for the picture to be taken.

And he wondered.


End file.
